Ex-Bush strategist Matthew Dowd has a perplexing op-ed in today's WaPo. Looking to chart a path by which Sarah Palin can reasonably reach the Oval Office, he lists a handful of steps she should take. His bullet-point categories are as follows:
"Quality over quantity." Dowd advises Palin to skip the constant tweeting, political pep rallies, and photo ops in lieu of more serious, gravitas-building appearances.
"Hope and fear." The Queen of the Death Panels clearly knows how to stoke fear--a skill aided by her extremely casual relationship with the truth--but has thus far not displayed a particular gift for tapping into people's hopes. To this end, Dowd recommends she get out of her happy-place bubble, travel more, and start talking to a broad cross-section of people about something other than what a great patriot they think she is.
"Reagan is the past." Palin needs to appreciate the values of our 40th president but not slip into the category of "acolyte."
"Use humor." She should lighten up, learn to laugh at herself a little--and for god's sake control that pathological grudge-holding at least to the point she can end this public slap fight with her grandson's teenage daddy.
"Think accountability." Palin should man up, stop whining about how everybody is out to get her, and start admitting she wasn't ready for prime time in '08.
Now, it's not that any of Dowd's prescriptions seem wrong. (Heck, the Reagan one could be tattooed on the forehead of any number of nostalgia-riddled Republicans.) It's more that Dowd is urging Palin to change her basic nature: Be less provincial. Be more serious. Don't nurse grievances. Don't be an attention hog. Stop blaming other people for your problems. Be more upbeat. Don't turn everything into a battle. Acknowledge your shortcomings.
Whew. While we're at it, why not call on Palin to become a policy wonk, abandon the partisan bomb-throwing, and focus all that energy on a worthy but low-profile cause to show how earnest and serious she can be?
For better or for worse, Palin is who she is. As is often the case, her awesome charisma comes burdened with breath-taking arrogance and a whole lot of crazy--which, as Bill Clinton so graphically demonstrated, cannot easily be weeded out. When dealing with such fundamentals, the contention that Palin can become president if only she will be x instead of y winds up less an exercise in showing how the ex-governor can succeed than in exposing Dowd's real belief that she cannot.
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COMMENTS (12)
The fact that Matthew Dowd wrote this article says all anyone needs to know about whether this drama queen has what it takes to be president. These pieces of advice are simply not applicable to any serious person running for president. Sarah Palin has the temperament of a teenage girl who lost her bid for prom queen. The non-stop drama and public spats with her detractors smack of someone who wholly lacks the emotional maturity to be the leader of the free world, to say nothing of her obvious lack of the basic intellect needed for the job. Palin is being her adolescent self. No opinion column spelling out how she should change her personality is going to be enough.
The fact that Matthew Dowd wrote this article says all anyone needs to know about whether this drama queen has what it takes to be president. These pieces of advice are simply not applicable to any serious person running for president. Sarah Palin has the temperament of a teenage girl who lost her bid for prom queen. The non-stop drama and public spats with her detractors smack of someone who wholly lacks the emotional maturity to be the leader of the free world, to say nothing of her obvious lack of the basic intellect needed for the job. Palin is being her adolescent self. No opinion column spelling out how she should change her personality is going to be enough.
Palin's doing fine. At the rate she's going, by 2012 she will have energized the GOP base more than anything since Roe v. Wade.
The more she is criticized and mocked and humiliated and disregarded by the left, the more she'll feel the love from the right. She will play them like a drum, and they will dig in for the duration.
Palin won't be her party's candidate, but whoever is will owe her a debt of gratitude for the legions of volunteers and donors who will significantly improve that GOP candidate's chances.
As an independent voter, I love to watch this stuff. I feel a little dirty, though, like a sadist who can't help but watch a fight between two drunks in the parking lot.
Palin is bait. Go a ... view full comment
Palin's doing fine. At the rate she's going, by 2012 she will have energized the GOP base more than anything since Roe v. Wade.
The more she is criticized and mocked and humiliated and disregarded by the left, the more she'll feel the love from the right. She will play them like a drum, and they will dig in for the duration.
Palin won't be her party's candidate, but whoever is will owe her a debt of gratitude for the legions of volunteers and donors who will significantly improve that GOP candidate's chances.
As an independent voter, I love to watch this stuff. I feel a little dirty, though, like a sadist who can't help but watch a fight between two drunks in the parking lot.
Palin is bait. Go ahead, y'all, take a bite.
The only "if Palin would ..." that's worth a damn is if only Palin would go back in time and not quit her job as governor. The single biggest reason to hope that she will never be president is that even her Republican primary opponents would call her a quitter, and that will sour even many in the conservative base on her.
Then again, the careers of George W. Bush and a depressing number of media celebrities show that in today's America, you can in fact fail and quit your way to the top.
The only "if Palin would ..." that's worth a damn is if only Palin would go back in time and not quit her job as governor. The single biggest reason to hope that she will never be president is that even her Republican primary opponents would call her a quitter, and that will sour even many in the conservative base on her.
Then again, the careers of George W. Bush and a depressing number of media celebrities show that in today's America, you can in fact fail and quit your way to the top.
This seems a reasonable assessment of Palin, but I can't imagine why she shouldn't appear a Reagan acolyte. What successful Republican campaigner has shied away from invoking Reagan at every possible opportunity? What is the downside?
This seems a reasonable assessment of Palin, but I can't imagine why she shouldn't appear a Reagan acolyte. What successful Republican campaigner has shied away from invoking Reagan at every possible opportunity? What is the downside?
what charisma? I honest to God can't stand listening to her speak irregardless of what she incoherently has to say. It isn't about politics, Huckabee has a folksy type of charisma and even though I disagree with him don't rush to change the channel. I truly don't understand her appeal.
what charisma? I honest to God can't stand listening to her speak irregardless of what she incoherently has to say. It isn't about politics, Huckabee has a folksy type of charisma and even though I disagree with him don't rush to change the channel. I truly don't understand her appeal.
I'm with you, blackie. I hold no brief against her, I suppose, but I just don't get the cheering crowds, etc. She had a choice between being a serious politician and being rich, and she has chosen the latter. fair enough.
I'm with you, blackie. I hold no brief against her, I suppose, but I just don't get the cheering crowds, etc. She had a choice between being a serious politician and being rich, and she has chosen the latter. fair enough.
If Sarah had wheels, she'd be a rogue bus.
If Sarah had wheels, she'd be a rogue bus.
butchie, you make an unfair assumption about Palin. She didn't choose between being a serious politician and being rich; she chose between continuing to be an unserious political dilettante and being rich. She made the wise choice; as Dowd's column makes clear, becoming a serious politician would have required Palin to become an entirely different person with a radically changed personality and intellect. That's not how human beings work. Barring radical brain injury or transcendent religious experience, we are who we are, certainly by the time our own replacement people start replacing themselves with our grandkids.
butchie, you make an unfair assumption about Palin. She didn't choose between being a serious politician and being rich; she chose between continuing to be an unserious political dilettante and being rich. She made the wise choice; as Dowd's column makes clear, becoming a serious politician would have required Palin to become an entirely different person with a radically changed personality and intellect. That's not how human beings work. Barring radical brain injury or transcendent religious experience, we are who we are, certainly by the time our own replacement people start replacing themselves with our grandkids.
It's amazing how much press Gov Palin is getting. I can't name a losing Vice Presidental candidate who got half this much coverage a year later.
Lieberman, Edwards, Kemp, etc mostly went quietly away.
My friend today told me that he thinks the only chance Gov Palin has is a trip through the Senate. At least 4 years, probably 6 years before she has overcome the problems she created by shooting from the hip here the last year or so.
Hilary really set the bar a little higher with her Senate Seat. Palin can talk all she wants about being a Governor, but really Alaska is not knocking down the criticism.
It's amazing how much press Gov Palin is getting. I can't name a losing Vice Presidental candidate who got half this much coverage a year later.
Lieberman, Edwards, Kemp, etc mostly went quietly away.
My friend today told me that he thinks the only chance Gov Palin has is a trip through the Senate. At least 4 years, probably 6 years before she has overcome the problems she created by shooting from the hip here the last year or so.
Hilary really set the bar a little higher with her Senate Seat. Palin can talk all she wants about being a Governor, but really Alaska is not knocking down the criticism.
"Be less provincial. Be more serious. Don't nurse grievances. Don't be an attention hog. Stop blaming other people for your problems. Be more upbeat. Don't turn everything into a battle. Acknowledge your shortcomings."
This is an excellent for your sixth grader as she's getting ready to start middle school. Palin's immaturity is much more profound than her dimness, which is remarkable.
She is lookin' quite good these days, tanned rested and ready. Quitting any pretense of work suits her.
"Be less provincial. Be more serious. Don't nurse grievances. Don't be an attention hog. Stop blaming other people for your problems. Be more upbeat. Don't turn everything into a battle. Acknowledge your shortcomings."
This is an excellent for your sixth grader as she's getting ready to start middle school. Palin's immaturity is much more profound than her dimness, which is remarkable.
She is lookin' quite good these days, tanned rested and ready. Quitting any pretense of work suits her.
oops, sorry - make that "an excellent list"
oops, sorry - make that "an excellent list"
Matthew Dowd has a series of "help thyself" articles coming up.
1. "A handful of steps for Alberto "Fredo" Gonzales to reclaim his credibility as a lawyer"
Excerpt: "Read the Constitution. Next time Gonzales is up for serving as the chief law officer of the country, he should make an effort to read the Constitution and, perhaps, a few cases of the Supreme Court."
2. "A twelve-step program for Charlie Brown to kick the football"
Excerpt: "Nail the ball down. Or just nail Lucy. The Gospel according to St. Ronald said it best: 'trust but verify'. It is simply not enough for Charlie Brown to take Lucy's word; he must manage to keep the ball in place until contact, or ensure that Lucy is sexually ... view full comment
Matthew Dowd has a series of "help thyself" articles coming up.
1. "A handful of steps for Alberto "Fredo" Gonzales to reclaim his credibility as a lawyer"
Excerpt: "Read the Constitution. Next time Gonzales is up for serving as the chief law officer of the country, he should make an effort to read the Constitution and, perhaps, a few cases of the Supreme Court."
2. "A twelve-step program for Charlie Brown to kick the football"
Excerpt: "Nail the ball down. Or just nail Lucy. The Gospel according to St. Ronald said it best: 'trust but verify'. It is simply not enough for Charlie Brown to take Lucy's word; he must manage to keep the ball in place until contact, or ensure that Lucy is sexually enslaved to him so that the endless emasculation drama does not repeat itself."
3. "Can Ahmadinejad learn to love Israel and abandon the Bomb? Yes, in seven easy steps."
Excerpt: "Get a gay lover. And plastic surgery. It is axiomatic that anti-semitism arises out of deep personal insecurity about manhood, being liked and getting laid. A'jad is ugly and he needs to do something about that, for sure. But he also needs to feel the true penetrating pain and burning of hatred to be cured of it. Metaphors go only so far. ..."
...
And I am not a spam.